Seriously, New York is disgusting in the winter. What is the solution to this misery?

Ahhh, yes.

Last year was the first time I took a winter getaway to a tropical location. I did a 5-day trip (Thursday-Monday) with three girlfriends to Puerto Rico. And it was pretty much the best thing ever.

Here is why you should take a getaway too:

Winter is hard on your body. My hands are chapped, my muscles are stiff, and I really don’t feel like doing any form of exercise since most require me to, you know, go outside. All I want to do is eat large bowls of pasta in front of the TV while petting my cats.

Winter is hard on your mental state. The holidays are over and the days are shorter. Seasonal depression is a very real thing.

Say goodbye to three-day weekends. With the exception of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and President’s Day (if your company is generous), most workplaces don’t get a long weekend until late May.

I have no cute winter clothes. Dressing like an Eskimo is bad for my self-esteem.

Americans work more and travel far less than the rest of the world. Time to break free of this terrible trend!

It is only early February. We still have two months of this nonsense left.

Now for the good:

Winter getaways can be cheap. For our Puerto Rico trip, my friend and I booked a vacation package through Priceline, which included round-trip flight from New York and four nights at the San Juan Marriot Resort & Casino for $700 per person. Two more friends got in on the deal, which lowered the cost to $500 per person, although there were four of us sharing a hotel room. A quick search on JetBlue Getaways reveals vacation packages to Cancun starting at $639 per person and the Dominican Republic for $559 (non-stop flight from New York and 3 nights in hotel).

You don’t have to go for a long time. A long weekend (Friday night through Monday night, for example) is enough time to rest and rejuvenate. For a low-key weekend, you really don’t need more than 3 days on the pool or beach or else it can get boring.

You’ll start to feel better right away. Really, right when you get off the airplane. Those first few minutes in the sun are incredible.

The trip can rejuvenate you for the rest of the season. Having something to look forward to (or look back on) during these dismal months can help carry you through until spring.

Over the next few weeks I’ll post about some cost-effective winter getaway spots that will help get us through to spring.